French finally get it: let people buy domains.

[blastfromthepast]

.FR, the country code for France is opening to individual registrations starting tomorrow - Tuesday, June 20th. The French ccTLD was previously limited to companies, organizations and holders of trademarks valid in France. Starting June 20 there will be only two conditions for eligibility: the registrant must be over 18 years old and able to provide an address in France. AFNIC, the operator of the .fr registry, has accredited several registrars to offer .fr domains. One of those, EuroDNS.com, said they will provide a 50% discount on .fr registrations with the promotional code: FR50PR.
Posted June 19, 2006

http://www.dnjournal.com/lowdown.htm

Any idea if they offer IDNs?

[idn1234]

Any idea if they offer IDNs?

No, Afnic specifically prohibit idn.fr but I think
they will have to introduce it at some stage.

[alpha]

No, Afnic specifically prohibit idn.fr but I think
they will have to introduce it at some stage.

.co.uk likewise.

[blastfromthepast]

No, Afnic specifically prohibit idn.fr but I think
they will have to introduce it at some stage.

Kind of foolish of them.

[idn1234]

.co.uk likewise.

Yes. Unfortunately, Nominet have been fannying
around with this for too long now. The IDN 'working
group' recommended that the Policy Advisory Board
(Nominet Board) go ahead with IDN months ago, but
STILL they haven't made an actual decision.

[blastfromthepast]

Yes. Unfortunately, Nominet have been fannying
around with this for too long now. The IDN 'working
group' recommended that the Policy Advisory Board
(Nominet Board) go ahead with IDN months ago, but
STILL they haven't made an actual decision.

Besides £.uk, what kind of English language IDN.uk can you think of?

The French case, of course, is more obvious.

[alpha]

Besides £.uk, what kind of English language IDN.uk can you think of?

The French case, of course, is more obvious.

It was a cheap and vague poke at the lax imigration policy we have here.

If you lived here you'd probably have given a little smile. :)

[Drewbert]

Ah. :)

[blastfromthepast]

It was a cheap and vague poke at the lax imigration policy we have here.

If you lived here you'd probably have given a little smile. :)

Ah yes.

[Wot]

Besides £.uk, what kind of English language IDN.uk can you think of?

The French case, of course, is more obvious.

UK idn !

Geordie .Scouse, glaswegian, suffolk, cornish - need I go on :)

[alpha]

UK idn !

Geordie .Scouse, glaswegian, suffolk, cornish - need I go on :)

haha

actually I suppose the Welsh language could use IDN? who knows.

but I think it's more likely that IDN.co.uk will happen, it will be forced upon us by Brussels, otherwise we will be violating the human rights on the zillions of free-loaders that hitch a ride into the UK - and then want to email their mates to tell them how nice it is over here.

[idn1234]

Besides £.uk, what kind of English language IDN.uk can you think of?

The French case, of course, is more obvious.

£.co.uk will never become available, and in the
absence of that i'd go for the 'usual suspects'...
café.co.uk, décor.co.uk, pâte.co.uk, and maybe one
or two others.

You are right, French words will be the best (most
widely understood) for the UK market and it will be
interesting to see what happens there.

[blastfromthepast]

£.co.uk will never become available

Says who?

You are right, French words will be the best (most
widely understood) for the UK market and it will be
interesting to see what happens there.

I was talking about IND.FR.

actually I suppose the Welsh language could use IDN? who knows.

The last (1991) census recorded that there were 530,000
people in Wales who could speak Welsh. The survey suggest it is more
like 750,000, and that up to 1,500,000 can 'understand' Welsh.

http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/archives/welsh-l/welsh-l/1993/Mar/More-Welsh-Speakers

[alpha]

Just to add another ingredient into this melting pot..

I used to dabble in the .co.uk market, and they (we) have the most ridiculous transfer system on the planet - typical UK, loads and loads of red tape.

to transfer a name you own, both parties must complete a form, complete with a signed letter from both parties, exchange the form with one another and then submit to Nominet with a cheque of course for £30 ($65 USD)

you then just have to wait a few weeks, and you'll eventually get your name.

This absurd process has killed dead the market in low priced name sales, and should IDN be even considered in this extension, it would be a real stumbling block.

but anyway, my original post was a joke, .co.uk doesn't need IDN, and lets hope that for once the overpaid politicians see sense. *sigh*

rant over. ;)

sorry for derailing the thread. back to the topic of .FR

[Rubber Duck]

Actually, it is far worse than you stated. You can transfer with Nominet but if the domain is not correctly cancelled at the Registrar, the new owner cannot change the Tags which is like the equivalent of Nameservers, I think. I can't even get my head around the bloody terminology they use! I have bought my last co.uk!

[alpha]

Actually, it is far worse than you stated. You can transfer with Nominet but if the domain is not correctly cancelled at the Registrar, the new owner cannot change the Tags which is like the equivalent of Nameservers, I think. I can't even get my head around the bloody terminology they use! I have bought my last co.uk!

tell me about it. I used to be (and probably still am) a Tagholder - that was another expensive mistake, just so I can try my luck at dropcatching. Would have had more luck digging for diamonds in my back garden.

[rhys]

tell me about it. I used to be (and probably still am) a Tagholder - that was another expensive mistake, just so I can try my luck at dropcatching. Would have had more luck digging for diamonds in my back garden.

LOL

[vgemito]

Tagholders are entities (read companies) that are registered and subscribed with Nominet UK (the UK Registrar) and are entitled to directly access the Nominet "Automaton" - the central database for domain records. It is the Tagholder that controls the domain records - unlike the generics where domain owners can do their own administration and even change ownership. It is very simple to change Tags. Just have the present Tag holder change to the new one you request. It takes but a minute since there is no interference between the Tagholders request and the Automoton's compliance (assuming it is a verified request). Then the new Tagholder (the company that represents you) can help you with any further changes. The trick is not to deal directly with Nominet because, although they are charming people, their policies are designed to have you work with Tagholders and not directly with them.

Regards

P.S. Alphamale: Unless you are being billed regularly by Nominet I am guessing that you are not still a Tagholder. However, you can always check at their website.

[alpha]

...P.S. Alphamale: Unless you are being billed regularly by Nominet I am guessing that you are not still a Tagholder. However, you can always check at their website...

Thanks, I'm not being billed, and I can't be bothered to check if I still have a tag anyway - what use would it be? LOL

[Drewbert]

>actually I suppose the Welsh language could use IDN?

Or maybe SOME MORE VOWELS!

[alpha]

>actually I suppose the Welsh language could use IDN?

Or maybe SOME MORE VOWELS!

yes.. the uncrowned gods of scrabble... only the Welsh can make a word using scrabble tiles from 7 letter 'L's 4 letter 'Y's 5 letter 'W's and of course an 'E' (to make it pronouncable).

[Rubber Duck]

yes.. the uncrowned gods of scrabble... only the Welsh can make a word using scrabble tiles from 7 letter 'L's 4 letter 'Y's 5 letter 'W's and of course an 'E' (to make it pronouncable).

Don't bet on it. Every tried ordering an Ice Cream in Czech?

No, well the answer to that little riddle is:

zmrzlina

And don't accuse them of not declaring all their vowels or you will end up with your head in your hands!

[idn1234]

yes.. the uncrowned gods of scrabble... only the Welsh can make a word using scrabble tiles from 7 letter 'L's 4 letter 'Y's 5 letter 'W's and of course an 'E' (to make it pronouncable).

:)